Coke Machine Glow

Gordon Downie, Gordon Downie | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 10, 2001)
• Original Release Date: 2001
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Zoe Records
• ASIN: B00005LZS7
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #102,032 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

There's no doubting a guaranteed audience for Gordon Downie's solo debut among those startlingly loyal Tragically Hip fans. There was also no doubt, based on the singer's kaleidoscopic lyrics and feral performance style, that any Downie solo work would be an enormous departure from the meat-and-potatoes rock of his day-job band. Yet Coke Machine Glow comes by its weirdness honestly, building on the singer's hunched-shoulder observations with spare, mostly acoustic layers of piano, pump organ, strings, Telecaster, and just about anything else at hand. And the record moves, alternately pitching us junkyard country, a shambling tuba-goosed Mardi Gras-style corker, and fragile folk and pop ballads, all tethered to Downie's literate song-poems, on one occasion delivered spoken word, possibly from the bottom of a well. Hip fans will note the ubiquitous homegrown references but may be surprised by the gauzy sentimentality of "Trick Rider," which finds one-time Eric's Trip member Julie Doiron shadowing Downie's hushed lead vocal. Coke Machine Glow won't bewitch the high-fiving throng for which "Courage" or "New Orleans Is Sinking" stand as beacons to Canadian-rock glory. But it's fascinating to follow Downie as he wanders down these various paths, always pausing to glance around and take notes for future use. --Kim Hughes

Product Description

First solo album for the singer of Canadian group Tragically Hip. Tracks include, 'Vancouver Divorce', 'Nothing But Heartache In Your Social Life' & 'Insomniacs Of The World, Good Night'. 2001 release. Standard jewelcase. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best album to come out the great wide (white) north..., July 25, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Coke Machine Glow (Audio CD)

ok, here's my un-expert review of Gord Downies's (GD's) Coke Machine Glow after a few complete listenings:

the best thing to come out of the great wide (white) north since young's harvest...you have to keep an open mind, folks, this is very, very, VERY un-tragically hip, this is gd's ponderings and musings about life in general. some of it is catchy, quirky spoken word with background music, others are brilliant, unrefined songs with rough edges. All of the songs blend in well. It reminds me of a group of musician getting together, sitting down and playing in a room in a big house with a tape recorder recording the music.

Songs like Vancouver Divorce, Chancellor, Lofty Pines and The Never-Ending Present are wonderful and thought provoking...

this is a great album to listen to on a sunday morning with a cup of coffee. It really makes you think and listen to the lyrics. It lends itself perfectly to live performance in a hazy, dimly lit bar, where people are drinkin' their fancy dark beers and wine.

Gord has done something fresh and amazing.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Warming to the Glow, April 7, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Coke Machine Glow (Audio CD)

Only four stars? Get back to me in a couple of days and I'm sure I will want to amend my rating upward. As with the past few Hip albums, it has taken a few spins to get into Coke Machine Glow. Its eclectic nature and its departure from Gordie's work with the Hip makes it a bit more difficult, but the effort is worth the rewards of such lines as, "Now for the spectacular part" and "I'm discovering uses for you I though I'd never find." The album is filled with these little gems, but any Hip fan already knows about Downie's tendency toward lyrics that are at once powerfully familiar and impenetrable, an effect both pleasing and provocative. The words are the attraction here, but the music, by turns folksy, bluesy, and just plain goofy (good goofy, ya know), also seems an effort to force the average fan to consider what else is out there. Consider it well. Thanks, Gordie.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great CD!, November 8, 2001

By 

Stephen Shoup (Austin, TX United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Coke Machine Glow (Audio CD)

I you want grunge, hard-edged, glam, rap-style rock n' roll. Stay away from this album.

This album is just great music which I feel is centered around great lyrical expressions. Great to fall into and get involved.

I have lived in Texas for all of my life. Different cities, but Texas is a large place. I was first introduced to The Tragically Hip with 'New Orleans is Sinking' back in 1989 - 90. After that, each on of the LP's has intriguied me and found EVERY track to be something I can listen to over and over.

Well, this path has led me to Gordon Downie's solo shot with Coke Machine Glow. This album has textures, meanings, and subtleties that are incredible. I was immediately drawn to Chancellor, but the more you listen to it, the cd is incredible. Many of the songs are very powerful, and have a great emotional component. You can see that the music comes from within the artist.

One of the best cd's that I have...